Glee: "Theatricality" Review

Asian vampires are the most vicious of all the vampires.

This was quite an episode, as it had some very fun material mixed in with one of the heaviest scenes Glee has delved into.

Let's get it out of the way – the big scene between Finn, Kurt and Kurt's dad, Burt, was a pretty big surprise. I think Finn has a right to be bothered by some of Kurt's behavior, not because he's gay, but because he will not let up, even though it's clear Finn is not into him and not comfortable with how he's acting. But Finn saying the word he said was obviously crossing a huge line. And Burt rushing to his son's defense was very understandable and pretty awesome to behold. I've mentioned it to before, but damn, Mike O'Malley is proving to be quite a great actor on this show, making Burt Hummel an incredibly nuanced, likeable character and his speech to Finn about how he couldn't let someone calling his son that stay under his roof was excellent.

On the other hand… While Kurt didn't deserve for Finn to go where he did, it's really about time Kurt took some responsibility for his actions. When Burt first said he wanted Finn out of the house, Kurt actually spoke up, not wanting it to go that far. But in later scenes, he just seemed pissed at Finn. It's a really tricky situation, because they had Finn go to such an ugly place here, but I hope the show doesn't also just excuse Kurt's less than likable actions going forward. Either way, I can't deny this was a powerful scene and handled far better than some of the more "after school special" type scenes the show felt like in the past, when they stopped to Get Serious.

As for the rest of the episode, there was a lot to enjoy. Having the kids perform Lady Gaga is obviously very of the moment, but hey, it worked and "Bad Romance" was really great. Meanwhile, the fact that the guys did not want to sing Gaga (Loved Puck's, "What's up with this Gaga dude?") felt appropriate and you had to appreciate Finn's plan on how they could still do something theatrical – KISS! This was a really fun number as well, and I continue to enjoy the very different types of artists being covered on this series. Their full makeup, flame-backed performance of "Shout it Out Loud" was followed by the earnest performance of "Beth", which Puck aimed at Quinn. It was a sweet scene, despite the fact that that song makes me think of its use in Wet Hot American Summer.

Meanwhile, Rachel figured out Shelby was her mom in a Streisand-fueled epiphany. I felt like the understandable awkwardness between them was well handled, though it seemed like it could have been stretched over a couple of episodes at least, rather than have their reconciliation and subsequent "this isn't really working" realization all within this one hour. And where was Jesse during all of this? Is he still with New Directions or not, because his absence from either Glee club was very odd.

It was Tina who set this episode in motion, after Figgins banned her from wearing goth clothes. And while it was a bit odd that she was then sidelined for much of what followed (bubble dress aside), I did love her opening and closing scenes with Figgins, which had some killer lines – particularly Tina explaining she hasn't seen Twilight because, "My mom says she thinks Kristen Stewart seems like a bitch" and warning Figgins, "Asian vampires are the most vicious of all the vampires!"

I find it quite odd that Rachel Berry of all people would pick "Poker Face" as the song she and her mom would duet on, but Lea Michele and Idina Menzel were both so awesome, I got over it. Plus, how great was Rachel calling for piano player Brad, and matter of factly noting, "He's always just around."

Finn showing up in the shower curtain dress at the end was a bit of a stretch (though I expected him to stand up to the bullies messing with Finn while dressed as one of KISS). But look, Glee is not a show you expect to be subtle… especially in an episode called "Theatricality."